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Lise Dion is one of the best known stand-up comediennes of the baby-boomer generation. To become a successful comedian today, I find there are generally two ways it can be done:

doing a few hard-punching, great comedic scenes with popular appeal, and getting those few scenes out as much as possible through television and the internet, or

By doing it the old fashion way; working your butt of, pouring in all your heart and soul, tour-after-tour, stage after stage, and winning the adoration of your audience through the genuineness of your efforts.

Lise Dion embodies the second road to success. It’s very rare to see comedians anywhere in Québec, or in Canada for that matter, who pound the pavement as much as she does, for the sheer love of her profession. Over the course of her career, she has sold over 1,000,000 tickets for her comedy shows (yes, more than 1 million… 6 zeros), has constantly been (and continues to be) on the road touring, and has sold over 150,000 discs of her comedy routines.

When others in Montréwood seek to work with the greatest of the great, Dion is one whose door they come knocking on. Thus, you’ll see her as an invited guest on variety shows, as well as doing work with others in her field.

What I really love about her is if you were to bump into her on the street, you would never ever guess she’s a super-star in the comedy world. Sure, she might make you laugh during the first few sentences, but the way she carries herself, the way she speaks, her humble “smiling lady next door” demeanour allows her to connect with everyone. The only difference is she grabs a microphone, jumps onto the stage, and leaves everyone in stitches. And it’s not a “knock-knock” kind of humour either. It can be the kind that makes you go “OMG! Holy Crap!! ** blushing profusely ** Where did that come from!?!”.

If it’s a topic that can be twisted into a joke (even if it shouldn’t be), she’ll take a stab at it — be it the 80 yr old granny walking a bit funny because of her STD (or worse… how she got the STD), or some very un-PC cultural non-mentionables from far away lands, there isn’t much which is off limits. Her style of language (very heavy on Montréal Joual), looks, and age are probably all factors which help allow her to get away with it — simply through the projection of naivety — whereas others likely would not be given the same slack.

Regardless of the crudeness and shockingly un-PC nature of many of her jokes, I’ve seen enough of her interviews over the years to get the impression that she definitely is the exact opposite of the crude, red-neck person her jokes may lead you to believe she is. She’s always smiling, laughing, listening, and making those around her feel at ease – just as she’s at ease with everyone who surrounds her.

If you want a lot of laughs (to the point that I’m not sure I’d recommend listening and driving), her works are available for sale through various platforms. Please do not pirate and stick to official websites (our artists form part of our cultural fabric).